Rose POV
It had been ten weeks since I'd woken up to my family leaning over me with tears in their eyes. I had a banging headache and the cries of 'Oh, thank God you're alive' and been too much. I had no idea why I wouldn't be alive and then I was confused as to why I was in bed. The last thing I remembered was leaving Lissa's apartment in towels.
Apparently, I'd been poisoned by the strigois that had attacked me and I'd almost died or something equally dramatic. After everyone told me off for being irresponsible and scaring them all, I'd been allowed to heal in relative peace. Abe and Janine had decided that I couldn't be trusted to be left unsupervised, so they'd moved in to the apartment a few doors down from ours. Together. Apparently they were making a go of their relationship. The stress of seeing me almost die had brought them together. Abe had brought his own guardians with him, so the floor that we all lived on was better protected than Fort Knox. Janine had taken over as Lissa's guardians, though she had stressed that it was only until I was back on my feet and ready to protect her myself.
Liss was doing much better. She and Adrian were working together to make healing charms to keep the darkness and the madness of spirit at bay. She'd stopped using spirit for the most part and she seemed a lot happier. Christian definitely was; he no longer had to hide things from her.
Dimitri had been watching me like a hawk and when he couldn't be with me, he'd made sure that someone was. Eddie had become closer to me than my own shadow, helping me work out when Dimitri was on duty. He also gave Dimitri a full report on my progress at the end of every day. It had started to get old pretty quickly but I knew how much it meant to Dimitri.
I'd gotten no more threats since I was poisoned and I was able to relax. I'd paranoid for quite a while and wouldn't go anywhere alone and if Dimitri was out, I'd invite someone over or lock the doors and windows. It had been ten weeks since then and I was doing much better though.
Eric's slashes had healed but I was left with four jagged scars on my arm that went well with my gun shot scar that Tasha had given me. Christian said that they made it look like I'd earned my bad ass reputation. Which was funny because the next thing he'd asked me to do was the furthest thing from bad ass.
He'd asked me to help him with something. He and Dimitri were waiting for me in the garage with nervous smiles on their faces.
"What's going on?" I asked as I stopped in front of them.
"I need you to come shopping with me." Christian said.
"Ugh, I hate shopping. Are you punishing me for something?" I asked. "Take Liss, she loves all the shopping stuff."
"I can't take her."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm buying something for her."
"Well, as long as it's pink or shiny, I'm sure she'll love it. Have fun." I said and turned away from them.
"Rose, wait." Christian called. "I need you to help me pick something that she'd like because you're her best friend and if I pick wrong then she won't tell me. And it needs to be perfect because she's going to have to wear it for the rest of her life and-"
I was vaguely aware that my mouth was hanging open but in that moment I didn't care. "Are you... Are you going to propose?"
He nodded with a smile. I looked over to Dimitri and he was smiling too, which was very uncommon for him when he was on duty.
"You want me to help you choose her engagement ring?"
"If you don't mind. I just, I need it to be perfect."
"Wow. Fire boy actually has a heart under all of that snark and sarcasm." I said with a smile of my own.
"Yeah, well, don't tell anyone. You'll ruin my street cred or whatever."
"Oh, Christian. You've never had street cred." I said and threw my arms around him. "I really happy for you."
"Thanks. Can we go now? All this affection will bring me out in hives." He said and wriggled his way out of my embrace.
"Let's take our boy shopping, Comrade." I said to Dimitri and got in to the car.
Dimitri and I were in the front because Christian had magazines spread out on the back seat. It was kind of cute, watching him flicking through bridal magazines looking for inspiration. Every so often he'd pass one through to me, show me a picture of an engagement ring and ask me what I thought. I liked them, as much as anyone that never wears rings can, but none of them really said 'Lissa'.
"You'll know the right one when you see it." I promised him, hoping that I was right.
Apparently, I wasn't. We'd been to six different jewellery shops and we still hadn't found the perfect ring for Liss. The options were endless. Yellow gold, white gold, platinum. Solitares, accents, vintage or trilogy. Diamonds or precious gems. One carat or a thousand carats... It was all so tedious.
Dimitri was staying quiet, offering no help or support at all. It was down to Christian and I to make a decision but we were both at a loss. Which one would she like the most? Which style would suit her the best? We'd been shopping for three hours, my feet were sore and I was exhausted. The shop assistants were too busy eyeing up Dimitri to be of any real help, which only made me angrier. He didn't seem to notice though, he was too busy watching the perimeter and looking out for weird people. There wouldn't be many though, seeing as we were at a human mall in the middle of the afternoon.
I was complaining that I was hungry, so we broke for lunch. As I sat at a table with Christian, digging in to my burger, a thought hit me. Mrs Dragomir had had a truly beautiful engagement ring that had always been on her finger with her wedding ring. It had been a light green stone with diamonds around. The ring was yellow gold and had been right in between dainty and fancy. Liss and I had spent most of our childhood wishing that when we got married, we'd have a ring just as beautiful.
I had no idea what had happened to the ring after Mrs Dragomir had died, but I knew that Liss didn't have it. I asked Dimitri for a pen and then drew a picture of it on my napkin. It wasn't a great picture but it was clear what it was supposed to me. I showed it to Christian and explained the story behind it and he knew, just as I did, that that ring would be perfect for Liss.
We rushed off the nearest jewellery store and asked if they had anything like. Of course, they didn't but they'd be able to make something similar. Christian told them what stones he wanted, the setting and the metal, told them her ring size and left them a deposit.
Finally, after four exhausting hours, we had the perfect ring for Liss. It wouldn't be ready for two weeks, which gave him plenty of time to plan the perfect proposal.
When we got back to Court, Dimitri and I headed home, got changed and then headed down to the gym. He'd been promising me for a week that we'd hit the gym together but we hadn't had the opportunity yet.
The gym was busy when we arrived, so we warmed up quickly then started to run laps around the outside. After ten laps, the mats freed up so Dimitri asked if I wanted to spar. Of course, I did. I'd always loved sparring with Dimitri and it often became a sort of foreplay for the two of us. The moves, the adrenaline, being in such close contact with such a God had always gotten me going.
We moved over to the mats and I was dimly aware of the sudden hush that fell over the gym as everyone stopped what they were doing to watch Dimitri and I sparring. It was the way that it had always been, everyone stopped and watched the two of us with a combination of awe and jealousy.
He was taking it easy on me seeing as I was technically still recovering, but we were still going hard at each other. I tried to keep my mind focused on the task at hand but I all I could think about was pinning him to the ground and having my way with him. He must have been thinking the same because he gave me a sly smile before lunging at me again. I blocked him and returned the favour, aiming for his neck. We swiped and blocked, lunged and ducked at each other until our bodies were covered in sweat. I wait for the oppurtune moment to put him on his ass and when I see it, I take it. I swept my foot out, hooking it behind is ankle and swept his feet out from under him. I held on to him so that he wouldn't hit the ground too hard and stradled his hips, bringing my fist down over his heart.
"You're dead, Comrade." I said and he smiled up at me. I shifted my hips against his, basking in the thought of what I could do to the man beneath me. He closed his eyes as he thought for control and then grabbed my hips, moving me off him.
Everyone was still watching us until Dimitri cleared his throat and then they scurried off back to whatever they had been doing before.
Dimitri put an arm over my shoulder and pressed his nose in to my hair. "Let's go home, Roza."
"Okay."
"I need a shower."
"So do I."
"Perhaps we should conserve water and shower together." He said in a low voice.
I never thought that talking about conserving water would be so sexy, but it really was. I nodded and let him lead me home.
The next day, Christian came over and handed us an invitation to a party. It was a surprise engaement party for Liss. Apparently his master plan was to surprise her in front of everyone she knew, which I couldn't see going too well.
"The whole point of proposing," I said to Dimitri after Christian had left, "is that it's private."
"It is?"
"Well, it's kind of hard to be romantic in front of a room full of people. I mean, pouring your heart out is so much easier when it's just you and the person that you love."
"Perhaps." Dimitri said with a frown. "Or perhaps it's about creating memories that will last for a life time. Anyone can book a table at a restaurant and hide the ring in a glass of champagne or a cake. Proposing in front of a room full of people, confessing your love and promising to always love a person, that's something to be remembered."
"You can't promise to love someone forever. People change. Liss and Christian won't be the same people forever. He might cheat on her or the power of being the Queen might go to her head. She could go crazy of the spirit and go on a murder spree. That's the kind of thing that makes it hard to love someone through."
"Yes, but loving someone enough to see their problems and help them through it, before it ever gets to the murdering stage, would be better."
"It's not always that easy, Comrade." I said, thinking back to the strigoi attack. I loved Dimitri more than anything but I hadn't gone to him with my problem. "Sometimes, you just don't want to drag the people that you love down with you."
"And sometimes you go to a different country to find the person that you love and attempt to stake them because you know that the real them wouldn't want to be like that." He said, remembering when I did exactly that for him. "There is no right or wrong way to propose, Roza."
"Maybe but I wouldn't like to feel like I'm being forced in to saying yes. She can hardly say no in front of everyone, can she?"
"Do you really think that she'd say no?" He asked.
"Well, I don't know. She's the Queen. She's young, she's got her whole life in front of her. She wouldn't be Queen Vasilisa Dragomir, she'd be Queen Ozera."
"Names don't work that way with the royals, you know that. Christian will take her name and become Lord Ozera Dragomir."
"That's not the point. She's barely eighteen, she can't get married."
"She can't get married but she can rule over all the Moroi?" Dimitri asked, cocking his eyebrow in that really sexy but really annoying way that he had. "Roza, she loves Christian and Christian loves her. They've been together for longer than we have and they're ready to make it permanent. There's nothing wrong with that."
"I never said there was anything wrong."
"Then why does it sound like you're practicing your argument so that you can talk her out of it?" He asked, knowing me far too well.
Perhaps not that well though. I had no problem with Liss and Christian getting married and making tiny Dragomirs. They could fill a castle with babies for all I cared. I just didn't want Dimitri getting any ideas. I didn't want to get married. I didn't want to go from Guardian Hathaway to Guardian Belikov. I could hear the conversations in my mind; 'Get Guardian Belikov', 'Which one?', 'The female one'. I'd built up my reputation over the years and I wasn't about to lose it over a change of name. Of course, Dimitri would probably argue that I could keep my name but it was more than that. Guardians died all the time and I knew that it would be that much harder to lose Dimitri if we were married. At least as we were, it would be less painful. Only slightly, but that extra bit would probably kill both of us and I died, I expected Dimitri to look after Liss and Christian, not sit around moping. It might not have been the best reasons to not get married but they were mine and I was standing by them.
The weeks flew by and before I knew it, it was the day of the party and we had so much to do. I had to go and pick Lissa's ring up with Christian and Dimitri, I had to buy a party dress, I had to help some of the guardians decorate the hall and still get myself ready.
We picked up the ring and I bought a dress, excusing myself so that they wouldn't see it. We drive back to Court and I helped to decorate the hall where the party was going to be with glittering hearts and streamers, fairy lights and balloons. We managed to make it look romantic without clearly saying 'you're getting engaged'. We did blow up some balloons and managed to get the in a net, tied to the ceiling so that we she sad yes, the congratulations balloons would float down around them.
When we'd finished, I went home and showered and then perved at Dimitri as he put his suit on.
He didn't wear it very often, only to important guardian events like trials, but damn he looked good in it. It fit him well and didn't hide his muscles and when he put his tie on, I wanted to pull him to the bed with it. I didn't though, knowing that this was an important night for Liss and that I couldn't miss it.
I dried my hair, leaving in waves down my back but pinning one side back so that it was off my face. I applied a little make up; mascara, a little eyeliner and a deep red lipstick that matched my dress perfectly. The dress itself was a wine red colour that flared out at my hips. It was knee length and hugged my body in all the right places.
I'd obviously chosen well because when I went to find Dimitri, his eyes glazed over in pure lust.
"I can't wait until the party is over, my Roza." He said in a low voice.
"We aren't even there yet."
"Then hurry up. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back." He said and kissed my temple.
We made it to the party before Liss and Christian and got ourselves a drink and mingled amongst the guests. Everyone was there; Eddie and Mia, Abe and Janene, most of the royal Moroi and most of the dhampirs too.
Adrian came over to us and smiled at me for the first time in months. "Hey, little dhampir. You look beautiful."
"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself." I said. In all honesty, he looked amazing. His hair had been combed to the side instead of his usually messy style, he was wearing a grey suit with a black shirt and a silver tie. He looked like he should have been walking down the red carpet of some movie premiere. I leaned in to hug him. "I've missed you, Adrian."
"I've missed you too, little dhampir. I just needed some time." He said as he hugged me back.
"I know." I said, fighting the urge to apologise to him yet again. He hadn't spoken to me since after I'd been shot. I'd crushed his heart by choosing Dimitri over him but I was confident that one day soon, he'd find his own person to love. Someone that could love him back and love him the way that he deserved.
Judging by the look on that he had on his face right then, it wouldn't take as long as I'd thought. I followed his gaze to the door and smiled when I saw who he was looking at. Sydney Sage walked in, looking beautiful in a beige shift dress. She had on low, sensible heels and the lightest touch of make up, which was very Alchemist of her. It was who she was though, smart, proffessional and never one to draw unnecessary attention to herself. And she didn't find Morois or dhampirs as repulsive as her colleagues.
Her eyes landed on me and a look of relief flashed over her face. She came over and smiled. "Hi, Rose. I'm glad that I know someone here."
"You know plenty of people." I said. "Liss and Christian will be here soon. This is Adrian Ivashkov. Eddie's over there and Abe is around somewhere."
At the mention of Abe she frowned. I'd first met Sydney in Russia and she'd known my father. Apparently she owed him for something or he had some serious dirt on her, because she'd been sort of working for him. She'd been there as an Alchemist but when she was need, all Abe had to do was call. He'd also forced her to take Dimitri and I across the country when I'd escaped from jail. We'd become friends, but she still didn't like my father.
Speaking of my father, Abe was making his way over to us. "Miss Sage, how lovely to see you. I wasn't expecting you to be here."
"Neither was I, but apparently saving the Queen's best friend and guardian gets me invited to such things." She said. She was being cold but she was keeping a professional distance.
"Ah, you're here socially. I thought you'd be here on behalf of the Alchemists."
"No. I'm here because I was invited by Lord Ozera."
"Good, good." Abe said, a mischeivous glint in his eyes. "Tell me, Miss Sage. How is your sister?"
The colour drained from Sydney's face but she quickly recovered. "She's just fine, thank you."
"No more bother from that boy?"
"No."
"Good." He said. I looked at the two of them and I was sure that they were silently communicating. Sydney looked uncomfortable but Abe looked as if he'd just conquered the world.
"Excuse me." Sydney said and walked away from us.
I turned to Abe, my hands on my hips. "What the hell was that?"
"Nothing, kiz. Just catching up." He said.
I knew that he was lying to me but I didn't have the chance to press because Liss and Christian arrived then.
Liss looked like a radiant angel. She was wearing a pale pink dress and her platinum blonde hair fell around her shoulders in soft ringlets. She clutched Christian's hand tightly as they made their way through crowd, everyone bowing slightly as she passed them. Everyone except me, of course. I wrapped my arms around and told her that she looked beautiful and then nodded at Christian. They made their way through crowd, greeting people with an appropriate amount of authority and then Christian took her straight up the stage. I was surprised. I'd expected him to give her a little time to adjust to having so many people around. Instead, the music was shut off and he held a microphone in his hand as he addressed the crowd. If nothing else, he would make a fine royal one day.
"Thank you for joining us tonight. I know that it was short notice and I appreciate that each of you came. The reason that we're having this party is hopefully to celebrate." He turned to Liss and smiled at her. I'd never seen him look at her like that before and I knew that he loved her. He slowly got down on one knee and brought out a ring box. "Vasilisa Sabina Reah Dragomir, you and I have been through a lot together. Crazy morois, psi hounds, crazy friends and troubled relatives. We've managed to conquer everything that we've come up against. You've made my life so much better by allowing me to be a part of yours and will never be able to thank you enough. You are everything to me. Every day I am in awe of your beauty and compassion, your morality and your fairness. I knew from the first time we met in the attic of the church that I wanted you in my life, though I never thought that it would be like this. You inspire me everyday with your patience and kindness. I love you more than I ever thought possible, Lissa. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"
He put down the microphone and opened the box, presenting the ring to Liss. She wiped tears away from her eyes and nodded, without even looking at the ring. He took it out of the box and slipped it on to her finger before standing up and spinning her around, showering her face with kisses.
Everyone applauded the happy couple and down came the balloons, falling to Lissa's feet, though she wasn't paying attention to them.
"Don't cry, Roza." Dimitri's voice said from beside me. He wiped my tears away with his thumbs and kissed me.
"I'm not crying." I said and smiled up at him. "I'm just really happy for her."
"You are?"
I nodded and kissed him. "She didn't even look at the ring though. All those hours we spent trying to find the perfect one and she didn't even look at it."
"She'll love it when she sees it, Roza." Dimitri promised and I knew that he was right.
"Ah, my daughter. Not only the guardian of the Queen but of Alchemists too."
"She isn't here as an alchemist. She's here as our friend."
"Perhaps, but she's still in debt to me."
"Why?"
"That's between myself and Miss Sage."
"Come on, old man. Don't you think that she's done enough for you? She took Dimitri and I across the country which is aiding and abbetting a fugitive or two. Then she came and saved my life when she didn't have to. Isn't that enough for you?"
"She's still in my debt, Rose." He said firmly.
"What because saving your daughter's life is the equivalent to lending you some money?" I asked, aware that I was on the verge of shouting. "You need to let her go."
"She is in my debt until I tell her other wise. Saving your life was a big thing and I appreciate it, but it's nothing compared to what I did for her." He said and turned away from me.
"And what exactly did you do for her that is so much more important than me?" I asked, closing the distance between us.
"That's none of your concern, Rose. You can't protect everyone. The sooner you realise that, the happier you'll be."
"Like you were?"
"Excuse me?"
"You know, when you ignored me for seventeen years."
"I never ignored you, Rose but there was little that I could do for you. You were at the academy. I came to you when I could."
"The only reason that you came to me was because I was in Russia. You didn't come to me or even let me know that I had a father. I knew nothing about you. I didn't even know your name or where you were from. I mean sure, it was pretty obvious that I didn't take after my mother seeing as she has red hair and mine is dark. You could have been Greek for all I knew."
"I did the best that I could with the situation that I was given, Rose. I have always been your father and I demand the respect that I deserve."
"When I have my own children, I'll make damned sure that my best is better than yours." I snapped.
"You're not planning on staying with Belikov then?"
"Excuse me?"
"Well, the two of you won't be able to have children of your own and he doesn't strike me as the kind of man to stand aside whilst his girlfriend sleeps with other men. Blood whores aren't really his type, are they?" He said with an evil smile and walked away from me. He went back in to the party and I stayed outside, needing the time to cool down. I sat outside the hall and seethed for a while, knowing that I was in no fit state to go back in to the party.
My father just called me a blood whore. It was funny really, coming from the man that had probably bedded more blood whores than any other man alive. I was in no mood to go back in to the party, knowing that if I did, I'd ending up beating my own dad to a pulp. I took a deep breath and went to find Dimitri.
I found him talking to Liss and Christian and went over to them.
"Rose," Liss said and threw her arms around me. "thank you."
"You're welcome." I said and hugged her back.
"This is the prefect ring. It's-"
"Just like your mother's. I know."
"You remembered?"
"Liss, I've loved that ring since I was six years old, of course I remembered." I said and then let go of her. "Congratulations."
"Thanks." Christian said with a warm smile.
"Rose, will you be my maid of honour?" Liss asked excitedly.
"Of course." I said and then turned to Dimitri. "Can I borrow you for a minute?"
His guardian mask slipped on immediately. "Is there a problem?"
"No. I just wanted to talk to you." I said.
We excused ourselves and went outside. "Is everything okay?" Dimitri asked as soon as the doors closed behind us.
"Yes. I'm just a little tired. It's been a long day." I said. "I'm going to go home."
He smiled and nodded. "I'll come with you."
I knew what he was after and it wasn't a good idea. Especially not with the mood that I was in. "No, you stay. Celebrate with Liss and Christian. Just keep Abe away from Sydeny."
"Is there a problem?"
"No." I lied. "Just make sure that he keeps his distance."
He nodded and reached up to touch my face. I turned in to his palm and rested my face there for a moment. "Roza, is everything all right?"
"Everything's fine. I'm just tired. You stay for a while. I'll be fine."
"I'll walk you home."
"And have to come all the way back? I'm fine. I'm a big girl, I'm training again. I can look after myself. And it's not like I'm leaving Court so I'm not likely to run in to any strigoi." I said and pressed my lips against his breifly. "I'll see you later."
He nodded and then went back inside.
I wrapped my arms around myself and started walking home. I was about halfway there and then... nothing. There was a pain at the back of my head and then darkness.